Of Hot Chocolate and Snowflakes
by yellowlightning
Summary: "If someone had told Phil during his diaper days that his best friend would be Kimi Finster, he would have burst into laughter and probably dump worms in their hair." Inspired by a song, snippets of Phil and Kimi, their friendship and how it evolves. CHAPTER 4 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own RUGRATS or "Song For You" by LastPageFirst

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ** I've been itching to write a Phil and Kimi story for days now and this story has been buried in thought for ages. I originally intended this to be a One-Shot but decided to break the song into short chapters. The lyrics of the song will be _italicized and **bolded**_.

Please Review! As I find it encouraging to continue stories when I know there are readers who are looking forward to them. Thank You (but please no flames).

**Of Hot Chocolate and Snowflakes**

If someone had told Phil during his diaper days that his best friend would be Kimi Finster, he would have burst into laughter and probably dump worms in their hair. She was spunky and far to rebellious to follow the norm. He worked far too hard to be his own person and refused to compete with someone who did the very same. Yet, as the two grew older-he found themselves gravitating toward one another.

**_You let me crash at your place_**  
><strong><em>when things got rough at home<em>**

Phil folded his hands behind his head and stared into the ceiling. He glanced at the clock, red numbers glared back at him indicating that it was way too late in the evening to be awake. The door opened slowly and the hallway light peeked through the darkness.

"I had a feeling you were still awake," a voice quietly spoke. Sitting up, Phil watched as Kimi walked into the room.

"I figured you would be sleeping by now," Phil replied as he leaned against the wall, making room on the bed. The petite asian shifted in place before cautiously taking a seat beside him.

Kimi laughed, "Yeah, well . . ." She gazed around the things belonging to her brother, letting her voice trail.

Phil had called the Finster household to speak with Chuckie, but the red-headed boy was away for a over night field trip. So, he found himself talking to Kimi instead. It was not too strange of a request when Phil asked if her parents would mind if he crashed at their place. It was no secret that the DeVille's were having martial problems. So every now and then when Howard and Betty got into a heated argument, the twins would find a place to claim as sanctuary for the night. Tonight, Lil was lucky enough to be at a weekend cheerleading retreat.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kimi whispered after a few minutes of silence. Both of their backs against the wall. If it were not for Tommy having his cousins visiting for the week, Phil would have taken refuge in the Pickles' household instead.

"Not really," Phil honestly answered, as he saw Kimi nod her head from the corner of his eye. He never liked talking about his parents with anyone, not even Lil. He always felt that talking about things just made everything real and a big part of him wanted to live in denial.

It was quiet for a while before Kimi broke the silence once again, "I catch my parents fighting some times." She paused for a second. "My mom and my 'real' dad. She tries real hard to hide it but I hear her argue with him on the phone."

"What do they fight about?" Phil found himself asking.

Kimi let out a sigh and gazed up toward the ceiling. "About me. My dad wants me to move to Japan for a year. Says it's only fair, but my mom is so upset about him shutting me out of his life all these years she refuses." She took another second to collect her thoughts. "I know they're not together and I love that Chaz is my dad, but it still hurts to know that my parents still fight."

He knew what Kimi had told him was something she never shared, not with Chuckie and not with Lil either. He could tell by the sound of her voice. The way the words left her lips, it made her voice sound foreign and unfamiliar. Knowing that she had probably just told him her deepest darkest secret broke the resolve in him and he felt his entire world crumbling.

"Do you think my parents are going to get a divorce?" his voice nearly cracked and he found himself clinching his fist. He refused to cry. The seconds that follow, passed painfully slow for him.

"No, I don't think so," answered Kimi. He half-expected those words to sound rehearsed or unsure. But her voice sounded truly sincere and hopeful. "Mom says that your parents started seeing a marriage counselor. Your parents must really love each other and they must want to be together if they're trying to find a way to work things out."

Phil nodded his head. It made sense. She made sense. And it didn't sound fake either. "Thanks Kimi."

For the first time that night, Kimi looked Phil in the eyes and smiled. "You want me to make you some hot chocolate?" Kimi offered as she rose from the bed.

Phil chuckled. "Sure." It was as if she knew that they shared enough secrets tonight. That if she pressed him any further, he would break even more and feel too far to be healed.

He followed her into the kitchen and sat next to the counter while she made them hot chocolate. They spent the rest of the evening watching television in the living room and talking about a variety of things. It was the first real long conversation Phil ever had with Kimi without the rest of the gang. It was almost dawn when they fell asleep on the couch. And when Phil woke to see Kimi curled on the other side of the couch, he thought perhaps Tommy being preoccupied by guests and Chuckie being away worked out for the best for him.

**-TBC-**

**A/N: ** This actually turned out a lot more serious than I had expected. The tone for the remainder of the story is actually completely different from this chapter (at least what I am envisioning at the moment). Anyways, I hope you like it. Please Review! THANK YOU!


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own RUGRATS or "Song For You" by LastPageFirst

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I needed to post something. I'm somewhat satisfied with this chapter. Halfway through, I realized this story is suppose to following Phil but I figured I can get away with a few chapters with Kimi as the focus instead. Anyways..Hope you like it

Thanks to **acosta perez jose ramiro**, **Tend to Infinity**, and **CrazyLake42**. You're all the reasons why I even updated this story. =)

The lyrics of the song will be _italicized and **bolded**_.

Please Review! As I find it encouraging to continue stories when I know there are readers who are looking forward to them. Thank You (but please no flames).

**__Of Hot Chocolate and Snowflakes**

_**you even talk my call  
><strong>__**when your phone said roam**_

RING! RING! Kimi rushed to her bag in search of her cell phone. Pulling the vibrating device out, Kimi looked at her cell phone to see the word 'ROAMING' flashing on her screen.

"Hello," she answered, not thinking twice at the charges the phone call was about to make on next bill bill.

"Kimi, hey" the person greeted, and Kimi found herself smiling.

"Hi Phil," Kimi replied as she took a seat away from listening ears and talking voices. There was a quiet chuckle from the other end, as Kimi waited for a response. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to speak up. "I'm charging by the minute, Phil."

Her voice teased as Phil laughed. "How is Japan?"

Glancing around at her surroundings, Kimi smiled. "Japan is beautiful. I really like it here." When the school year ended, Kira finally gave and allowed her ex-husband permission to have Kimi visit but just for the summer. Another second passed. "Did you seriously call me just to ask me about Japan?"

"What? A friend can't call another friend to see how they're doing?" gasped Phil, pretending to be offended. Kimi rolled her eyes.

Six months had passed since that faithful night Phil slept over the Finster household. Six months since they confided each other and sought comfort in hot chocolate. One might think they bounded together after that, but their friendship took no drastic changes like that. Although they never went out of their way to hang out with each other, they did find themselves talking to one another more than usual when the entire gang got together.

"There is a thing called 'Skype' and 'text messages' Phil," Kimi commented playfully, far too curious to know why he had called. Aside from instant messages, Kimi had only spoken to her brother on the phone and once with Lil.

"Yeah well-." his voice trailed and she wondered why he was so hesitant.

"I'm just messing with you," Kimi added, wondering if she pushed it with the teasing.

"My dad made pancakes this morning-" There was a slight pause. Kimi wrinkled her brow in confusion. The words that followed, sped so quickly she just barely made out his words. "I know, it sounds lame but dad use to always make pancakes on the weekends. It was like family bonding in the mornings. He stopped making them when things got bad between him and mom. And well. He made pancakes this morning."

"Oh Phil-" her voice filled with compassion and her eyes watered at the thought.

His voice cut her off before she could continue. "I know this call is costing you, but when I woke up to the smell of pancakes and saw my parents at the table together-aside from Lil, you were the first person I thought of calling."

"I'm glad you called. It was worth every cent," Kimi quietly replied with a smile. She knew things between the Deville's were still a bit rocky the past several months, but she also heard from her mom that they were finding ways to make it work.

"More like dollars," joked Phil, attempting to lighten the mode and was rewarded with a laugh.

"Kimi-san!" a voice called out to her.

"Was that a guy calling you? Did you find yourself a boyfriend, Kimi Finster?" teased Phil with a laugh as Kimi rolled her eyes.

"Please," Kimi sarcastically replied, as she held up her hand to indicate she would be done in a few minutes. Kai, the voice who had called her, was the son of a family friend of her dad. After meeting her during her second week in Japan, he volunteered to introduce her to his friends and take her around Tokyo. Kimi found him to be rather handsome and sweet. His friends insisted that he liked her, but she denied the kind gestures. She was not too keen on the idea of dating someone she just met especially if she would be gone in a month.

"When are you coming home by the way?" He asked curiously causing her to smile. She wondered if he missed her. She definitely missed home.

"In three weeks," answered Kimi as she swung her legs.

There was a long pause as if he was wondering what to say next. "I should probably let you go before you charge me for the bill."

Kimi laughed and was a bit disappointed that their conversation was coming to an end. She realized she missed talking to him. "I think I'll add interest." Kimi waited till their laughter died. "I'm glad you had pancakes this morning Phil."

"Me too," Phil said with a smile. "Thanks for picking up your phone, Kimi."

"Anytime." She was being honest. "Tell the others I said 'hi'."

"I will. Bye Kimi."

"Bye Phil." Ending the call Kimi, pocketed her cell phone with a smile. As much as she was enjoying Japan, she was really looking forward to going home to her family and friends.

**-TBC-**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own RUGRATS or "Song For You" by LastPageFirst

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ** Sorry for the late update, I've been fairly stuck on this part of the song. I was finally able to type something worth keeping around and found myself rather pleased by the end of the chapter. I originally intended to post a longer chapter and have go into the next two lines but decided this would stand alright alone. Hope you all like it!

Thanks to **El-Queso**, **ff**, **Caramello** and **Acepilot6**. Your uplifting comments pushed me to not give up and continue this story. =)

The lyrics of the song will be _italicized and **bolded**_.

Please Review! As I find it encouraging to continue stories when I know there are readers who are looking forward to them. Thank You (but please no flames).

**__Of Hot Chocolate and Snowflakes**

_**the kids that i hung out with  
><strong>__**they used to laugh at you**_

It was scorching hot, it was hard to believe that summer was nearing the end and autumn was just around the corner. Wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead with the back of his head, Phil collapsed onto the patch of grass beneath him.

"Finally, man!" his teammate yelled as he fell onto his back. "I thought you were never going to take a break."

Phil laughed as he reached for his water bottle. "We're juniors next year Mike. We won't make varsity from taking breaks."

"When did you turn into such a hard worker, Deville?" joked his other friend, Sean, earning a sarcastic laugh from Phil.

Silence fell amongst the three friends and Phil opted to laying back against the grass. He busied himself by throwing the soccer ball up and catching it on his own. A few minutes passed before Mike and Sean talked idly about the upcoming school year before snickering from under their breaths.

"Check it out. Someone thinks its Halloween," chuckled Mike as Phil turned to look. He sat up, resting against his elbows to see a familiar Asian dressed up in costume.

Sean busted out laughing before nudging Phil. "Hey Deville, don't you know her?"

As if on cue, Kimi smiled widely before calling out to him. "Phil!" She waved cheerfully as Phil contemplated whether to laugh or groan.

"You know she looks pretty cute even with the costume," Sean voiced, rather seriously. "Introduce us Phil."

He shot Sean an annoyed look. Ignoring the comments being made from his friends and their laughter, Phil rose from his spot off the grass and jogged toward Kimi. "Hey. New statement?" She grinned brightly as he approached her.

"Ha. Ha," Kimi pouted as she rolled her eyes. "I told you the anime convention is today."

"Oh right," nodded Phil as he looked over what appeared to be an oversized black karate gi. He nearly forgot Kimi fell in love with anime while in Japan. She even managed to convince his sister to watch a few shows with her. "So what are you? A martial arts master?"

Kimi frowned again as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm a shimigami! I swear Phil, just watch one episode of Naruto or Bleach. I know you'll enjoy it as much as I do. Please?"

Phil laughed as he shook his head. She had been bugging him even before returning home for him to start watching so that they could talk about the storyline together but he told her video games was enough of an addiction. "I'll think about it." He ruffled her hair, with a grin, pleased he shot up a few inches since the start of summer. "Why does your hair look so different?"

"Stop," Kimi scolded as she swatted his hand away. She spent majority of the morning trying to flip her hair the right way. "If you watched the show, you'd know why."

"I can't believe you cut your hair just for one event." He decided to leave out the thought that her shoulder length hair was slowly growing on him. His eyes dropped to her hips. "Cool, is that a sword."

"Yeah. Jeez, boys and your toys," she replied as he pulled the wooden sword from the scabbard and began swinging it around. "You sure you don't want to come?"

"Nah," he declined as he handed back the make-shift weapon. "I saw my sister before leaving the house with her hair dyed pink. I don't even want to know what kind of get up you both plan to put me in."

"You don't have to dress up. It just adds to the experience," Kimi explained as she smiled at the thought. Phil chuckled as he glanced at his friends as she followed his gaze. "Are you practicing for next season?"

"Yeah," nodded Phil as his friends looked in their direction, laughing, earning a puzzled look from Kimi. "They find your outfit wildly amusing you know."

Kimi frowned as she stuck tongue at the boys. "Your friends can be jerks sometimes. Like I care what they think." She huffed and glanced up at Phil. "Well, I should go. I told Lil I would try to convince you to come with us before going over to your place."

"Sorry, maybe next time," Phil suggested half-heartedly as Kimi waved him off. "Have fun! Bring me back a souvenir!"

"Whatever Phil," Kimi called over her shoulder as he laughed.

Phil watched her leave the park and disappear in the distance before returning to his friends. Since her return from Japan, that was pretty much the basis of their friendships. Interactions between the two were more frequent but short and comfortable. He appreciated that things were that way.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Phil laid in bed with his eyes glued onto the television screen. Music played quietly in the background but his attention was on playing Call of Duty online with Chuckie and Tommy. They were in the middle of ambushing an opposing team when a package fell on his chest.<p>

"Ow! What the heck Lil?" whined Phil as he sat up glaring at his sister. The package rolled onto the bed.

"Is Lil home?" Tommy piped up on his headset earning a chuckle from Chuckie. It was no secret between the three that Tommy had a crush on his twin sister.

"Kimi asked me to give you that," Lil said as she plopped on the bed, snatching the controller away from him to play. "You should have came."

"Not my thing," Phil sighed as he picked up the package curiously.

"Hey nice kill Phil!" Tommy complimented, as Phil glanced to the screen just in time to see Lil take down five enemies.

"I'm not playing. Lil is," laughed Phil, knowing very well how good his sister was on the xBox. She was a secret gamer at heart.

He ignored jokes from Chuckie as Tommy flustered over compliments to Lil he wanted Phil to relay. Phil turned his attention back to the package and flipped the bag over. A pentagon shape object to drop into his palm. "What is this?"

"You said you wanted a souvenir," commented Lil as she peeked at the object from the corner of her eye before smiling.

"Yeah but _what_ is it?" Phil asked again ignoring the curious questions being voiced by Tommy and Chuckie. He stared at the wooden object that appeared to have a skull on it and held it up by the rope attached to it.

"Ask Kimi, but she'll probably tell you to just watch the anime," laughed Lil as tossed the controller back to her brother. "Kimi and I are going to log on. We'll teach you boys how to really play."

**-TBC-**

**SIDE NOTE:** I like everything else but the ending for both scenes. It seems rather incomplete. All wells, something to edit later! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: ** I do not own any of the characters of All Grown Up/Rugrats

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the late update. I got stuck halfway through the chapter. I'm somewhat satisfied but decide to settle so that I can move on. I hope some of you enjoy it regardless. Leave me a review. Please and Thank You!

**Of Hot Chocolate and Snowflakes**

_**but when things got crazy**_  
><em><strong>you'd always be around to laugh with me<strong>_  
><em><strong>and tell me not to take my life so seriously<strong>_  
><em><strong>and not to let everyone influence me<strong>_

Phil wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. His heart raced as his feet hit the pavement. Music blasted through his earphones. He felt a soft shove and saw a mess of black hair in a high ponytail.

"Hey! I've been looking for you," Kimi nearly shouted as he turned the volume down from his iPod.

"Hey" he simply answered as he nodded in her direction. He returned his attention to the sidewalk before him and never once lost stride.

She stared at him but failed to get him to spare her a glance. "I guess we're jogging," Kimi muttered to herself, once she realized Phil was not planning to stop.

It was hard not to notice her presence even if she remained silent since joining him. Her high ponytail whipped side to side as she ran beside him, and caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Not to mention he was surprised that she could keep up with him.

"You know, you're not half bad," Phil commented as he peered at her from the corner of his eye.

Kimi snorted, keeping her eyes in front of her. "Just because I don't play sports doesn't mean I'm not in shape."

"Point taken," smirked Phil as he shorten his stride, allowing Kimi to slow down a bit. Her breaths were becoming short.

"Wanna tell me why I had to chase you down? Lil told me you've been running since noon," Kimi questioned as she met his gaze.

Phil groaned as he rolled his eyes. "I should have known Lil sent you."

"Excuse me?" Kimi snapped as she stopped jogging and began to glare at him. Hearing the tension in her voice Phil froze two steps ahead of her. "First of all, no one sends me anywhere. Well except my parents to get groceries or something but they don't count." Phil chuckled under his breath as she began to ramble.

Kimi felt the irritation escape her as she heard his laugh. "Well, there you are. I was beginning to think a parasite took over your body or something."

"Ha ha," Phil dryly replied as she smiled. "You should really lay off the Anime a little, putting too much crazy ideas in your head." He tapped the top of her head and pulled his head away to avoid her swats.

"Parasites taking over your body is Science Fiction not Anime," she corrected as she attempted to grab his hands. "And stop it." Phil laughed as she frowned at his actions. "So are you going to tell me or not?"

Phil stiffened a bit and began to walk. "There's nothing to talk about."

Kimi let out a quiet sigh. "If you say so." She caught up to him, mentally deciding that she drop the subject for the time being. "Want to play ball?"

"You serious?" chuckled Phil as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Dead serious. Why? Afraid you can't take me?" challenged Kimi as she shot him a sassy grin.

Phil laughed. "Please, you haven't been able to beat me since we were kids."

Truth be told, basketball was a sport Kimi was exceptionally good at. Quick, agile, and she could shoot to save her life. The only area she was not gifted in was height, she was rather short in comparison to other girls. "Want to bet?"

x x x

A deep laughter filled the air as she let out a deep breath. "You should really think about joining the team."

Kimi frowned a bit at the comment. "Team sports are not really my thing."

"Who knew, you would be so anti," teased Phil as he tossed her the basketball.

"Not anti, just not competitive enough" shrugged Kimi as she spun the ball on her finger. "I wouldn't be able to stand the pressure from teammates, the coach, and not to mention the school."

"Tell me about it," muttered Phil as he stood up, dusting his shorts with his hands.

The petite asian narrowed her eyes carefully. "Is that what has been bothering you? Soccer?"

The brunette teen let out a sigh. "Varsity is so much different. There's so much pressure in making it to State. Not to mention all the scouts from colleges."

"Whoa whoa whoa," stopped Kimi as she rose to her feet. It was strange to hear Phil confess about his stressors with school. He always kept soccer and school so simple and carefree. "Phil we're still juniors."

"I know but-," Phil attempted to explain before Kimi held up her hand.

"Just have fun Phil. Isn't that what you told me when I asked you why you played soccer? Aside from being a big super star out there," teased Kimi causing Phil to smirk.

"It stopped being that simple," muttered Phil with a weak smile as he grabbed the basketball from her to distract himself.

"Stop thinking about it so much. You never do well under stress," Kimi pointed out as she watched him dribble the ball.

He made a face remembering a game from his sophomore year in which his frustration caused him to miss two goals. His coach had to take him out of the game so that he could calm down. "Yeah I guess not," shrugged Phil as he took a shot at the hoop and making it.

"You could always join the basketball team if not," played Kimi as he shot her a look causing her to laugh.

"Only if you become a cheerleader," teased Phil as he jogged to get the ball, avoiding her as she tried to hit his arm.

"Whatever!" frowned Kimi at the suggestion. He knew that cheerleading was the last team she would want to join. She loved Lil and admired that she could be so outgoing. Kimi on the other had avoided being the center of attention. "Come one. Lets go!"

"Where?" asked Phil as he picked up the ball.

Kimi smiled widely. "To my house. You lost remember? We're watching anime and you're owe me ice cream!"

Phil playfully groaned but smiled afterwards. Who would have guessed someone else needed to tell him to relax and to just have fun.

**-TBC-**


End file.
